Local Peace Groups Protest US Drone Strikes

Several local peace groups will hold an action in Pioneer Courthouse Square at noon on Friday to protest the US military's drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere in the region.

The Obama administration's drone campaign was on the national stage earlier this week, when a Yemeni activist whose village was bombed in a drone attack testified in an unprecedented public Senate Judiciary hearing.

Drone attacks have severely strained US-Pakistani relations, and courted much controversy stateside, particularly for the prevalence of civilian casualties.

Members of CODEPINK, one of the groups behind tomorrow's action, call the drone deaths "unlawful."

KBOO reporter Jenn Chavez spoke with Trudy Cooper, a member of CODEPINK's Peace Delegation, which traveled to Pakistan to discuss the drone strikes with Pakistanis; she explained what she learned there, and what CODEPINK hopes to accomplish with tomorrow's action.